News Archive - 18 February 2013

Dr. Mohammadreza Zadmehr | Hamid Estili | Hossein Mahini |

برنامه باشگاه

>In a speech to a gathering of international Jewish leaders, Netanyahu said sanctions alone could not stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, and held out the prospect of military action as a last resort."Have sanctions, tough sanctions, stopped North Korea? No. And the fact that they produced a nuclear...

>FUNDAMENTALS* U.S. crude for March delivery dropped 26 cents to $95.60 a barrel by 0119 GMT.* Brent crude rose 10 cents to $117.48 a barrel.* A bearish target of $116.28 per barrel remains unchanged for Brent as a correction from the Feb. 8 high...

SINGAPORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Tuesday toextend slight gains from the previous session, but prices werecapped as the U.S. dollar rose to a more than one-month highagainst other currencies. ...

>* Campaign tainted by assassination attempt on rival* Police received 70 allegations of voting violations (Adds details of alleged violations, partial results)By Hasmik MkrtchyanYEREVAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan won a new five-year term on Monday, an exit poll and initial results showed, in an election marred...

>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - History is alive and kicking at this year's Oscars in an unusually rich year for movies that plumb the distant and recent American past and have resonated with both audiences and voters. Four of the nine Best Picture nominees at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony - Iran...

>* Finding replacement for Halkbank not easy - source* Rupee payment may help HMEL in clearing dues - sourcesBy Nidhi VermaNEW DELHI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - India is now paying Iran only in rupees for its oil after it lost another payment route in euros due to tougher sanctions from...

By: CNN article in the Feb. 18 Barometer Offensive news article I am writing to voice my frustration and opposition to The Daily Barometers decision to insert the CNN article “Lebanese women take on Muslim judges who cal...

LANGKAWI, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- Its all systems go for the 18th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi that will feature an international field, as 31 nations are represented on the provisional start list of 132 riders, divided into 22 teams for the race that kicks off on Feb 21.

Some national security experts believe Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) terrorism could plunge the country into chaos by shutting down the power supply for months.

# hacking The New York Times is reporting that members of China's most advanced hacking group have been traced to the same small neighborhood as a Chinese Army base , a revelation that all but confirms that the Chinese military is behind the attacks. The hackers, known as the "Comment...

U.S. crude-oil futures lose some ground, facing headwinds from a rising dollar, with the market due to reopen later in the day.

>* Technical charts point to fall in oil prices* U.S. oil inventories data delayed to Wed, Thurs* Iran turns down offer to ease gold sanctionsBy Florence TanSINGAPORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $117 per barrel on Tuesday after settling down for the third straight session...

Reuters will issue this diary daily at around 1000 GMT. All times in GMT unless otherwise stated. Items marked ** denote new or amended listings. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -...

Oil prices turned lower in Asia on Tuesday after a holiday in the United States and data showing weaker oil exports from Saudi Arabia, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery ...

One of the most arresting images of the year so far was the view from outer space of gas being flared from oil fracking operations in North Dakota. Apparently, gas is now so cheap in the US that it pays to get rid of it just by flaring rather than...

by Joaquin Henson | philstar.com Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes conservatively quoted even odds for the national team to take the third and last ticket to the FIBA World Championships in Spain next year with China, Iran, Jordan and Korea the likely choices to vie for top honors at...

LOS ANGELES: Perhaps it is no surprise, given that 2012 was a US election year, but this year's Oscars crop includes a heavy dose of politics -- which has arguably influenced Hollywood's top awards race.

There's unexpected but not entirely surprising upside to a years-long global economic downturn. Governments don't buy as many guns and bombs.

Almost 50,000 converged on a frigid Sunday morning and marched around the White House to protest against the Keystone Pipeline, a trans-continental pipeline project starting in Canada and ending in Nebraska. The Keystone XL pipeline is an oil pipeline being constructed by TransCanada that controversially uses tar sands (similar to...

To really understand the vicious opposition to the nomination of Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, remember this: his appointment will pull the pin to trigger an explosion that poses an existential threat to the neoconservative belief that American military might should be used to transform countries into...

Chuck Hagel is hoping a letter to some of his sharpest critics will help him win confirmation to be defense secretary. In the letter, Hagel said he does not remember and disavows a 2007 report claiming he described the State Department as an adjunct to the Israeli government. Republican senators...

In a letter sent to one of his sharpest critics Saturday, Chuck Hagel stated he could not remember and disavowed a report from 2007 where the Defense Department nominee was characterized as describing the State Department as an "adjunct&qu read more

Analysis: Alleged crimes by "Prisoner X," a spy found dead in jail in Israel, still shrouded in mystery

Ship and explosives confiscated

Triangular-shaped orange-poppy seed hamantashen cookies are a favorite for the Jewish holiday Purim. / Matthew Mead/AP The children's costume parade is an annual Purim highlight for students at Shalom pre-school.

The hip-hop star's reference to Emmet Till draws fire.

It's not every day a retired CIA member visits your classroom, but that's exactly what happened for students at King University today.

BURAIDAH: Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr. Onaizah City has its own array of tourist attractions, be it a festival, private meeting at a family ranch, a variety of museums or a number of parks.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is on a tour of the Middle East this week, which will include a stop in Israel. Rubio met Monday with King Abdullah II in Jordan along with other members of the Jordanian government to talk about the Syrian war and...

With an artist quite so well known as Roy Lichtenstein (can anyone not be aware of his imagery?), it is always tempting for a gallery to try and freshen him up with a novel interpretation. Mercifully Tate Modern, which has been particularly guilty in the past, has decided this...

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports that the man identified as Ben Zygier "was arrested by his own spymasters after they believed he told Australia's domestic intelligence agency about every aspect of his work with the Israelis." Zygier committed suicide in 2010 after 10 months in...

On several occasions during his first term - particularly at times when it seemed that relations between Jerusalem and Washington were strained - The Jerusalem Post called on U.S. President Barack Obama to visit Israel.

A British couple who were 18 months into a trip around the world by bicycle have been killed in a road accident in Thailand.

With conditions continuing to deteriorate, President Obama may reopen the debate over providing weapons to opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.

U.S. gas prices have hit a four-month high with 32 straight days of increases at the pump bringing misery to spring breakers and job hunters.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Bahrain has reported foiling a major Shi'ite plot linked to Iran. Copyrights 2008, Middle East Newsline. All rights reserved.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Calls are intensifying for the U.S. to pressure Iran to free pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent who is being tortured in an Iranian prison and persecuted for his Christian faith.

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Israel's defense market was expected to grow amid threats from Iran and Syria, a report said. A report asserted that Israel's defense market would grow by nearly three percent by 2017. The report, titled "Future of the Israeli Defense Industry -- Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts...

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran plans to establish a naval base near Pakistan. Copyrights 2008, Middle East Newsline. All rights reserved.

Kim Kwang-jin says that when he worked for North Korea's state insurance company in Singapore in 2003, he stuffed $20 million into two suitcases one day and sent it to Pyongyang as a special gift for then leader Kim Jong-il.

BEIRUT -- A United Nations commission on Monday, Feb. 18, said fighters on both sides in Syria's civil war have committed atrocities and should be brought to justice, while European foreign ministers extended an arms embargo on the country in hopes it would limit the ability of both sides to...

This week's home video releases include a 3D update of a classic adventure film and a drama at the heart of this year's Oscar race.

Wrestling is the King of Sports and the Sport of Kings.

Iran on Monday urged Paris to take "a correct approach based on reality," after the French defence minister stressed the need to prevent the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons.

Three convicted rapists have been publicly hanged in the Fars province in south Iran.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The death of an Iranian general in Syria and the death in an Israeli prison of an Australian linked to Israel's intelligence exposed the shadow war in the Middle East.

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Most Americans say nuclear weapon development in North Korea and Iran are critical threats to U.S. interests, a Gallup poll on potential threats indicated.

DOMIZ REFUGEE CAMP, Iraq (AP) — Syrian Kurds who fled their country's civil war have mixed feelings about a future without Bashar Assad: They hope to win a measure of autonomy after the fall of the regime, but fear chaos and the rise of Islamists could instead make their lives...

California growers are spearheading output of the popular green nuts, helping the US surpass Iran in production.

The D.O.T. is working on Interstate Highway 75, Northbound and Southbound, between mile posts 53 and 55 in Tift County.

The Talmud is a pillar of Jewish law, containing dialectical opinions from thousands of rabbis debating law, philosophy, history, theology, and myriad other topics. By displaying argumentation by many minds, a page of Talmud enshrines dissent.

President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address last Tuesday was free of surprises. He spent most of it on domestic American issues, such as the slow growth of the economy and the steady rise in the federal debt.

He said, “What is happening in Syria is much more serious than what happened in Baghdad a decade ago. The nature of the conflict there is different and more complex, and the region is more fragile than it used to be, on the day the regime of Saddam Hussein was...

Classical conductors spend a lot of time on airplanes flying from one job to the next and are thus used to the frustrations that come with modern-day air travel. But for Gustavo Dudamel, a recent episode during a trip to Israel seems to have gone beyond the usual airport aggravations.

A defense official in the United Arab Emirates says the Gulf nation has signed $1.4 billion in military contracts that include purchases of U.S.-made drones.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Republican opponents are sending signals that Chuck Hagel's bid to become defense secretary will probably come to an up-or-down vote soon in the Senate. That's unless m...

Barack Obama will become the first serving US president to receive Israel's presidential medal, from his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres on a visit to the Jewish state next month, Peres's office said on Monday.

THE NFL is canceling the Super Bowl in 2014 in favor of competitive croquet, and the league's best teams will have to settle for conference championships instead. You're laughing, but please try to imagine it.

Critics maintain the decorated Vietnam combat veteran and former senator is unqualified to lead the U.S. military. A top White House official expressed "grave concern" over the delayed confirmation vote, adding that there was nothing to worry about in any disclosures that may yet come.

The price of mutual aid arrangements for fire and emergency services might be going up.

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez shocked and delighted Venezuelans by returning home Monday after spending more than two months in Cuba for cancer surgery and treatment. Chavez announced his return on Twitter, and his arrival at Caracas airport was not broadcast on TV, which is unusual in this oil-rich...

Forex Flash: Global crude oil needs increasingly dependent on OPEC – Merrill Lynch

Brent crude oil began the week trading steadily below $118 as geopolitical tension and an overall positive sentiment regarding the global economy supported prices. The commodity traded at $117.89 at 8:45 GMT on Monday morning. Data last week put pressure on Brent prices after eurozone nations posted large drops...

Gasoline prices nationally have climbed 42 cents in the last 30 days, with much of that coming in the past few days. Jackson prices are heading into the $3.60 a gallon, making those $3.10 and $3.15 a gallon prices of mid January a distant memory.

Just six months after Iran freed 52 Americans hostages in 1981, senior Reagan administration officials secretly endorsed third-party weapons sales to Iran, a move to align US policy with Israeli desires to sell arms to the Islamic republic then at war with Iraq, according to documents recently released by the...

In this Feb. 14, 2013 file photo, a woman poses with an Australian newspaper showing the front page story of Ben Zygier. The man, identified by Australian media as Mossad agent Ben Zygier, known as "Prisoner X". (AFP)

Specs Age 36 New gig Editor in chief, Wired Old gig Vp, editorial platforms and design, Condé Nast In your first editor’s letter, you said that you were planning to “blow some stuff up” at Wired . What did you mean? This is a place that really thrives on change, progress...

This film image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Bryan Cranston, left, as Jack O’Donnell and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in "Argo," a rescue thriller about the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

Iran's parliament has apologised to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for a heated row during an impeachment session, joining the president, speaker and chief justice in pledging obedience to the supreme leader.

Join us for a webinar this Wednesday 20th February at 1pm with guest presenter Eddie Hobbs . Eddie will provide valuable insight into the outlook for the US and the global economies.

Argo received more awards to add to its growing collection. The Ben Affleck-directed film scored a huge win during the Writers Guild of America Awards Sunday night. read more

>CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez has made a surprise return from Cuba where he underwent complex cancer surgery two months ago, but there is no word on whether he is fit enough to return to active rule of the South American OPEC nation. Here are some key facts about...

>The Islamic Republic, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, started building the Fordow plant inside a mountain in secret as early as 2006, to protect it from air strikes.Last week Reuters reported world powers were planning to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious...

Asian Centre for Human Rights has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to abolish capital punishment

NEW DELHI, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- Indian tea exports declined by 23 million kg last year over 2011 due to slowdown in the global market, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted India Tea Association (ABITA) chairman A K Bhargava as saying.

Iran supplied shipment to ease shortages blamed on rebels who captured mills

Eight terrorists trained in weapons and explosives arrested

Al-Qaida's local franchise in Iraq has claimed responsibility for car bombings that killed at least 37 people in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad.

Russia vowed to overturn a decision to exclude wrestling from the 2020 Olympics, saying the move flouts the games’ traditions and the interests of hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

Vows to lifted tens of thousands of Ecuadoreans out of poverty

>* Saudi oil exports fall for third month in December* Major powers offer to ease gold sanctions on Iran* N. Korea prepares for more nuclear tests (Updates prices)By Florence TanSINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose slightly toward $118 a barrel on Monday, underpinned by expectations of improving global...